Anyone who lives in, around or knows about the Seattle area...

[NoahsMommy]

Tell me what you think of it, honestly. I can't go into why just yet, but I'd like some information. Feel free to PM me if you'd like. :)

Thanks in advance,
Kelly

[CatDad]

I'll send you a PM.:D

[NoahsMommy]

bump :)

[Nomilynn]

I don't live in Seattle, but I do live in the proximity. I would never leave this area if I didn't have to. I just love the Pacific NW coast. It's SO gorgeous!

[RubyMutt]

I can honestly tell you, I'd NEVER want to live anywhere else in the world. I absolutely love it here. Do you want any specific information?

I love Seattle - I love the atmosphere, the environment, all the activities - I truely believe it is a city where anyone can find something they like there. Not to mention, it is beautiful. It's bordered by two huge lakes - Lake Washington & Lake Union - as well as Puget Sound and has views of two breathtaking mountain ranges. What more could you ask for?

I also love how easy it is to get away from the city. Western Washington has some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever been to. Going into the Cascades and the Olympics is, just, magnificent! lol, it's really hard to put into words. We are so lucky to have such a beautiful environment here. It truely is a blessing.

I guess those are my favorite things about the area. I love the "big city" feel of Seattle, it's just so easy to find something to do there. It's a fun place. And I LOVE the landscape. On my commute home from work I can view the gorgeous Olympics and Cascades (ok, only on clear days, but we get more of those than what our area's reputation may lead you to think ;)) and drive by the Puget Sound. It's such a good feeling, I feel so lucky to be able to see it every day. After living here, I could never live away from the Sound. It's just a wonderful place.

I don't know if that helped or not, but honestly, it is such a great place, IMO at least. I'd be happy to share more if you're interested (I could post some photos as well).

[RubyMutt]

oh, I should also mention...

The PT meetings at Marymoor Park are FABULOUS! :D

[NoahsMommy]

I'd LOVE pictures!!!!

Where would you live in the city? I prefer somewhere safe...any recommendations??

What are the drawbacks? If any? ;)

[Cheshirekatt]

Ditto what RubyMutt said plus:

I love the fact the you're about 3 hours away from so many different climates; desert, mountain, ocean, rainforest . It's amazing.

Heading downtown on a clear day with an amazing view of Mt. Rainier is breathtaking.

[tomkatzid]

We live half a hour south of the city, in Auburn. Tom has lived here all his life, and I've been here since 1970. Spring time is the "Best", just beautiful.
Here is the city site:
http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/

[popcornbird]

I ***love*** Seattle. I've been there many times, and it is just beautiful. Only drawback is...........the Mount St. Helen volcano resides there. :o

[tomkatzid]

Oh, and :
http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp?c_id=sea

[RubyMutt]

I don't live in Seattle, I live around 30 minutes north in Everett. I know there are neighborhoods in Seattle that are considered safer than others. I'll ask my dad tomorrow, he grew up there. Ballard came to my mind immediately, although, my sister who lives there recently had her car stolen right out of her driveway:( Luckily it was found a few days later. All in all, I think Ballard is a nice neighborhood (I think things like that happen just about anywhere nowadays :() I'll still check with my dad tomorrow and get his opinion. I'll also post some photos tomorrow since I should be getting to bed soon :)

[RubyMutt]

Originally posted by popcornbird
I ***love*** Seattle. I've been there many times, and it is just beautiful. Only drawback is...........the Mount St. Helen volcano resides there. :o

I think St. Helens is pretty dormant. I think the bigger concern "volcano-wise" is the possibility of Rainier erupting.

[tomkatzid]

Originally posted by RubyMutt
I think St. Helens is pretty dormant. I think the bigger concern "volcano-wise" is the possibility of Ranier erupting.

Very true.

The worst thing about Seattle is you get to buy rain coats in every color. We love to shop !!!;)

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by RubyMutt
I think St. Helens is pretty dormant. I think the bigger concern "volcano-wise" is the possibility of Rainier erupting.

I watched a documentry on the National Geographic Channel regarding the eruption of Mount St. Helen just a month or so ago, and they said there's a possibilty of it erupting anytime again. Could be soon, could be in a few years, a few decades, but they said eventually, it will erupt again. They did talk about Rainier too though. But still...........Washington is beautiful. I love it.

[Cataholic]

I lived in Seattle, and if it weren't for my family being here, I would move there immediately. It is such a great, diverse place. And, the weather is so NOT a factor. You can do anything outside nearly anytime you want, as it is so tempurate. I do think it is slightly more expensive then, say where I am from. But, since you are already in Cali, it shouldn't be a sticker shock. As to 'safe' neighborhoods...I haven't lived there since 1991, so, I don't know.

[RubyMutt]

I asked my dad for his opinion on some of the nice safer neighborhoods in Seattle. He listed:

West Seattle (around Alki) - North End - Shoreline - Wallingford - North Ballard

(Wallingford is one of my favorite parts of Seattle :D)

IMO, the biggest draw back to living in Seattle/greater Seattle area is the traffic. It's awful (I don't know what part of Cali you're from, but maybe if you live near LA you're used to that ;)).

Anyway, I got together some photos of Seattle & Western Washington...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/p2def84a9f9b0ae01222d69b986140949/fa8a3de2.jpg
here's some of the traffic ;)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/pb43f4d03a24e78cc42af90a08cf78fe4/fa8a497e.jpg
downtown

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/pc6271026c18ae49613eec4774e3b7900/fa8a4b66.jpg
heading towards the Sound

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/p3a991a70667b96d9881ed6e168a0ef40/fa8a4be0.jpg
the Needle

(I'll post some more in another post)

[RubyMutt]

some photos from places outside Seattle...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p8ba933b3150bd0f32e21ddf16f82096b/fc191b7c.jpg
this is on Mt. Baker (a couple hours noth of Seattle - worth the drive!)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/p56adbb2e9bb12149776052158d6401db/fc191be7.jpg
also on Mt. Baker

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid67/p633b1629516608a372b98cecf5327ed1/fbc69bb3.jpg
this is looking towards downtown Everett from a beach not far from my house

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid67/p0515cf9a5a5ab90f83a3b098c8f8086b/fbcc5ecb.jpg
the same beach - looking towards Whidbey Island w/ the Olympics faintly in the background

and a few photos of Puget Sound...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/pc963fed74c64262789e6deb003789d93/fb1829ee.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/pdfcaa19bcca095e67bdf105665bbb357/fb182b43.jpg

it has a couple resident orca pods :)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/p8dc49bd080640eb91a3ea7a186d27edf/fb18342e.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/p1d691fa92816117a8471404e793a6481/fb18343d.jpg

If you'd like more, I'll gladly post some :D

[guster girl]

I lived two years in Olympia/Tumwater, Washington. I absolutely loved it there and would relocate in a heartbeat if given the chance. Definitely a good place to be. I'm hoping to go back and visit this year. I learned to scuba dive in the Puget Sound. BRRR.....

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

My best friend lives in Kenmore, which I think is just a little Northwest of the city. I know she loves living there. She said sometimes the rain gets to you, but for the most part the weather is great because it's so temperate - never gets really cold or never gets really hot. I've only been to visit her once, and thought the area was beautiful. Having access to so many great hiking areas is really cool.

As for Mt St Helens, it's almost 200 miles away so I really don't think it's too much of a factor to the actual city of Seattle.

As for safe neighborhoods, find out where Bill Gates lives and I think you'll be in a pretty safe neighborhood. ;) :D I know my friend pointed in his direction when I was there, but I don't remember the name of the suburb and I think it's on the East side of Lake Sammamish....I think....

Oh, and they do have earthquakes there, but I'm sure you're familiary with those. My friend works on the 7th story of a 10 story building and that's where she was a few years back when they got a pretty good earthquake. Before that she had only been in real real minor ones, but this one was pretty big and it freaked her out a little being on the 7th floor. But she's taken classes from the Red Cross (I believe) in disaster management, so she was all calm cool and collected - at least on the outside. ;)

Sounds like you're thinking about moving there, so if you are, I don't think you'll regret it. Lots of traffic, just like any big city, but I think it really has a lot to offer.....as long as the World Trade Organization doesn't have any more meetings there. ;) :p :D

[Corinna]

I lived 32 of my 42 years in the Skagit valley (last 10 here in Montana ) Conway and Fir Island have a great bunch of small home based stores . I also loved Orcas Island the resident (J) pod of Orcas used to go by my brothers house(hey where was the picture taken) I miss the ocean and whales but love it here more. If you have questions e mail me i can tell you a lot about Skagit county a little cheaper to live than seattle area but still reduclas . Thats why I klike it here.

[catland]

Here in the good ol' Pac NW, jobs are still pretty scarce and the traffic in Seattle can be horendous. Portland is sort of a Seattle wanna-be - a little smaller, more temperate climate, and still lots of great stuff as far as recreation is concerned.

That being said, if you don't mind the rain and the overcast weather, Seattle can be beautiful.


Oh - and PCB - I remember the day Mt. St. Helen's lost her top. It is actually close to Portland, not Seattle - you can see it here on clear days. Its interesting to see from a distance, a mountain with a flat-top.:eek: We didn't get the ash fall out from the first blow, but did get it when it blew again the next week. It was eerie - like it was snowing, but snowing ash. Also, it didn't just blow over night. There were tiny earthquakes and we knew for several weeks that it could blow. While the blast was bigger than expected, the majority of people that were killed were those who didn't heed the warnings and clear out in time.

[tomkatzid]

Snoqualmie Falls
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid103/p104ced7d2723379d2aea8ee4102613ca/f9a6054d.jpg
Seattle
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid103/p5cd0055112242705e96418054b474a27/f9a6054e.jpg
Mt. St. Helens
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid103/pd113e518eb7d91383e13b00a7f1e1700/f9a60552.jpg
Hurricane Ridge
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid103/p16b77f9ead6889b17b318e4183b1abbf/f9a60554.jpg
Hood Canal

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid103/pe4f1021b09da14b9e801627d4c8539e8/f9a60555.jpg
Mt. Rainier

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid103/pf5eb703b1a27f01dbfbca43cbaddf0b0/f9a6021d.jpg